Application body-equipped cosmetic container

ABSTRACT

An application body-equipped cosmetic container that feeds a liquid cosmetic accommodated inside a container to a container tip end via a relay wick, which induces a capillary action, in which the liquid cosmetic can be applied to a target application portion in accordance with rotation of an application body, which is disposed in a rotatable manner at an outlet of the container tip end and an outer peripheral surface of which comes into contact with the relay wick, wherein a section of the relay wick that comes into contact with the application body is in a loosened state.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an application body-equipped cosmetic container.

In the related art, a container in which a liquid cosmetic accommodated inside a container is fed to an application body disposed at a container tip end via a relay wick that induces a capillary action, and the liquid cosmetic is applied by using the application body, is known as an application body-equipped cosmetic container.

In the application body-equipped cosmetic container disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 5566518, an application body is disposed in a rotatable manner at an outlet of a container tip end as a disc-shaped application body that comes into contact with a relay wick, and a fine line is drawn as a result of the disc-shaped application body rotating during application to a target application portion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In this instance, when the outer peripheral surface of the application body comes into firm contact with a tip end surface of the relay wick, it is difficult for the application body to rotate in order to reliably transfer a liquid cosmetic to an outer peripheral surface of a disc-shaped application body from the relay wick. Accordingly, there is a demand for a configuration in which it is possible to guarantee favorable rotation of the application body during use.

In such an instance, an object of the present application is to provide an application body-equipped cosmetic container in which the application body can rotate favorably during use and which is capable of drawing a fine line.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an application body-equipped cosmetic container that feeds a liquid cosmetic accommodated inside a container to a container tip end via a relay wick, which induces a capillary action, in which the liquid cosmetic can be applied to a target application portion in accordance with rotation of an application body, which is disposed in a rotatable manner at an outlet of the container tip end and an outer peripheral surface of which comes into contact with the relay wick, in which a section of the relay wick that comes into contact with the application body is in a loosened state.

According to the application body-equipped cosmetic container, the section of the relay wick, which induces the capillary action, that comes into contact with the application body is in a loosened state. In this instance, the term loosened state refers to a state in which the corresponding section is loosened to an extent that does not hinder rotation of the application body and it is possible to feed an amount of the liquid cosmetic that is sufficient for application to the application body by using the capillary action. Therefore, the application body can rotate favorably during use and it is possible to draw a fine line.

In this instance, the length in an axis line direction of the section of the relay wick that is in the loosened state be 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm. In a case in which such a configuration is adopted, the application body rotates favorably, and a capillary force of the section in the loosened state can favorably feed an amount of the liquid cosmetic sufficient for application to the application body.

In addition, a more specific example of an application body that most suitably exhibits the above-mentioned action and effect is a disc shape.

In this manner, according to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an application body-equipped cosmetic container in which the application body can rotate favorably during use and which is capable of drawing a fine line.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view that illustrates an external appearance of an application body-equipped cosmetic container according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view that illustrates a state in which a cap is detached from the state of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a main portion longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view that illustrates a relay wick in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a photograph that shows a state of the fibers of a tip end portion of the relay wick.

FIG. 6 is a photograph that shows a state of the fibers of a rear end portion of the relay wick.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an application body-equipped cosmetic container will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. FIG. 1 is a perspective view that illustrates an external appearance of an application body-equipped cosmetic container according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view in which a cap is detached, FIG. 3 is a main portion longitudinal sectional view, FIG. 4 is a perspective view that illustrates a relay wick, FIG. 5 is a photograph that shows a state of the fibers of a tip end portion of the relay wick, and FIG. 6 is a photograph that shows a state of the fibers of a rear end portion of the relay wick. The application body-equipped cosmetic container of the present embodiment can be used when applying a liquid cosmetic to skin, or the like, which is a target application portion, and in particular, is suitable for drawing a thin line on the eyelids in the manner of eyeliner, and drawing a thin eyebrow line in the manner of the eyebrows.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an application body-equipped cosmetic container 100 is provided with a container main body 1 and a tip tube 2 that configure a container, an inner padding 3 that is accommodated inside the container main body 1, a relay wick 4 that is accommodated inside the container main body 1 and the tip tube 2, an application body 5 that is mounted at a tip end of the tip tube 2, a cap 10 that is mounted in a detachable manner to the container main body 1 so as to cover the application body 5, and the like.

The container main body 1 is formed from PP, for example, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, is configured in a tapered cylindrical form including steps. The container main body 1 accommodates the inner padding 3, which, for example, is composed of polyester, or the like, which is impregnated with a liquid cosmetic, in a tube hole on the rear side of a stepped portion 1 a thereof, and an opening at the rear end thereof is closed as a result of a tail valve 7 being mounted thereon.

The tip tube 2 is formed from PP, for example, a rear half portion 2 a thereof is configured in a cylindrical form, and a side further toward the front than the rear half portion 2 a is configured as a flattened cylindrical portion 2 b. The flattened cylindrical portion 2 b presents a transverse section having a rectangular tubular shape in which the outer surface increases in diameter relative to the cylindrical rear half portion 2 a via a stepped portion 2 c and a transverse section (a cross-section orthogonal to an axis line direction) is substantially rectangular, and is configured to have a tapered shape in which the outer surfaces of both a major axis side and a minor axis side of the rectangular tubular shape decrease in size and form a flattened shape while curving in conjunction with movement toward the tip end. A flattened tube hole of the flattened cylindrical portion 2 b and a circular tube hole of the rear half portion 2 a have a configuration in which the diameter of the major axis side at the rear end of the flattened tube hole and the diameter of the circular tube hole conform with one another, and as shown in FIG. 3, the minor axis side at the rear end of the flattened tube hole is connected to the circular tube hole via a stepped portion 2 g. The stepped portion 2 g functions as a component that prevents the advance of the relay wick 4.

A spring portion 2 h is formed as a result of providing a notch 2 i, which forms a U-shape when viewed in a radial direction (the up-down direction in FIG. 3) and allows communication between the inside and the outside, in the rear half portion 2 a of the tip tube 2. The spring portion 2 h is a component for preventing retreat of the relay wick 4, has an elastic property in the radial direction as a result of cantilever supporting a right side in the drawing when the left side in the drawing is set as a tip end portion, and a pair of the spring portions are provided so as to face one another.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an opening 2 x at the tip end of the tip tube 2 is configured to be a container outlet, and a pair of projection portions 2 e that project further forward than an opening edge 2 d on the major axis side are provided to face one another on the minor axis side (the up-down direction in FIG. 3) of the opening edge. Support holes 2 f for supporting the application body 5 in a rotatable manner are respectively provided in the projection portions 2 e so as to penetrate in a short diameter direction.

The application body 5 is a component for applying the liquid cosmetic to a target application portion, is formed from ABS, for example, and is configured in a disk shape. The disc-shaped application body 5 is respectively provided with shaft portions 5 a, which project outward in the axis line direction, at the positions of the axial centers thereof. For example, the thickness of an outer peripheral portion of the disc-shaped application body 5 is configured to be a thickness that is suitable for drawing a thin line such as an eyeline. Additionally, the shape of the application body 5 is not limited to this configuration, and in short, may be any kind of shape as long as it is disc shaped. The application body 5 is disposed at the outlet 2 x of the tip tube 2 and is supported in a rotatable manner by the tip tube 2 as a result of the shaft portions 5 a thereof entering the support holes 2 f of the tip tube 2.

The relay wick 4 is a component for inducing a capillary action, and as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, presents a shape that corresponds to (conforms with) the tube hole of the tip tube 2. In the relay wick 4, a section on the tip end side of a stepped portion 4 d, which abuts against the stepped portion 2 g of the tip tube 2, is configured as a flattened shape portion 4 x having a flattened shape, and a rear side of the stepped portion 4 d is configured in a cross-sectionally circular round bar form and extends toward the rear. A tip end portion 4 a of the flattened shape portion 4 x of the relay wick 4 is a section for coming into contact with the application body 5, and a section on the rear portion side of the relay wick 4 is a section for entering the inner padding 3. A rear portion side of the section that enters the inner padding 3 is configured as a truncated cone section 4 y having a truncated cone shape in order to easily enter the inner padding 3. In addition, concave portions 4 c for spring portions 2 h, 2 h of the tip tube 2 to enter and engage with in the axis line direction are formed in annular form in the central portion of the relay wick 4.

A relay wick 4 having such a configuration is formed by using the pultrusion below. More specifically, for example, nylon fibers, polyester fibers, or the like, are bundled, the fiber bundle is impregnated with an adhesive resin by passing the fiber bundle through a tank in which the adhesive resin is accommodated, the adhesive resin-impregnated fiber bundle is pulled out from a mold having cross-sectionally circular holes, and a round bar form molded product; that is, a porous fiber body is obtained. In this instance, the movement speed of the fiber bundle is controlled so that the adhesive resin does not reach the axial center of the fiber bundle and only reaches a predetermined diameter.

Subsequently, the fiber bundle solidified into a round bar form by the adhesive resin is ground using a grinder, or the like, for example, so as to form the shape shown in FIG. 4. In this instance, sections of the round bar form other than both end portions remain in a hard state so that sections solidified by the adhesive resin remain even if grinding is performed.

Meanwhile, since the truncated cone section 4 y narrows in conjunction with movement to the rear end, the adhesive resin is scraped away in the vicinity of a rear end portion 4 b of the truncated cone section 4 y, and as shown in FIG. 6, a small number of fibers are in a disarrayed state.

In addition, since the flattened shape portion 4 x is flattened, in a similar manner to that of the rear end portion 4 b, the adhesive resin is scraped away at the tip end portion 4 a and a small number of fibers are in a disarrayed state.

Subsequently, a loosening processing is performed on the tip end portion 4 a. In the loosening processing, a gear-shaped disc having high hardness and a multitude of uneven portions on the outer peripheral surface thereof is prepared. More specifically, a disc in which minute uneven portions are continuously arranged in parallel along the outer peripheral surface is prepared. Further, the tip end portion 4 a is loosened by pressing the tip end portion 4 a toward the uneven portions on the outer peripheral surface of the disc, which is rotated. In this manner, by carrying out the loosening processing after grinding, as shown in FIG. 5, the tip end portion 4 a is configured to be in a loosened state. In addition, for example, a hard belt on which a multitude of minute uneven portions are arranged in parallel and which moves in an elliptic orbit may be prepared, and the tip end portion 4 a may be loosened by pressing the tip end portion 4 a toward the uneven portions of the belt, which is moved.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a relay wick 4 in such a state is inserted inside the tube hole of the tip tube 2 from the tip end side thereof. Since the relay wick 4 and the tube hole of the tip tube 2 have flattened shapes, the relay wick 4 and the tip tube 2 are not capable of rotating. The cylindrical rear half portion 2 a of the tip tube 2, in which the relay wick 4 is inserted, is press fitted inside the cylindrical tip end portion of the container main body 1, and the stepped portion 2 c thereof is mounted in the container main body 1 abutting against the tip end surface of the container main body 1.

At this time, the outer surfaces of the tip end portions of the spring portions 2 h of the tip tube 2 are pushed against the inner peripheral surface of the container main body 1 and warp to the inside, the inner sides of the tip end portions of the spring portions 2 h, 2 h enter the concave portions 4 c of the relay wick 4 thereby preventing retreat of the relay wick 4, and the stepped portion 4 d of the relay wick 4 abuts against the stepped portion 2 g of the tip tube 2 thereby preventing advance of the relay wick 4. That is, the relay wick 4 is mounted in a manner in which the relay wick 4 is not capable of moving in the axis line direction relative to the tip tube 2. In this state, a section of the rear portion side of the relay wick 4 is in a state of being inserted into the inner padding 3.

In addition, in this state, the tip end portion 4 a of the relay wick 4 is positioned inside the tip end of the tip tube 2, and an outer peripheral surface 5 b of the disc-shaped application body 5 is in a state of entering and coming into contact with the tip end portion 4 a, which is in a loosened state, of the relay wick 4.

In an application body-equipped cosmetic container 100 configured in this manner, a liquid cosmetic with which the inner padding 3 is impregnated passes through the relay wick 4 due to a capillary action, is fed out to the tip end portion 4 a thereof, and is transferred to the outer peripheral surface 5 b of the application body 5, which is in contact with the tip end portion 4 a of the relay wick 4. Further, a user unfastens the cap 10, and can draw a line of the liquid cosmetic by holding the application body 5 against a target application portion and moving the container along the target application portion thereby rotating the application body 5.

At this time, in the above-mentioned manner, the tip end portion 4 a, which is a section of the relay wick 4 that comes into contact with the application body 5, is in a loosened state. More specifically, is in a state of being loosened to an extent that does not hinder rotation of the disc-shaped application body 5 in which it is possible to feed an amount of the liquid cosmetic that is sufficient for application to the application body 5 by using the capillary action. Therefore, according to the application body-equipped cosmetic container 100 of the present embodiment, the application body 5 can rotate favorably and it is possible to draw a fine line.

In this instance, it is preferable that the length in the axis line direction (the loosening length) of the tip end portion 4 a of the relay wick 4 that is in the loosened state be 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm.

In experiments carried out by the present inventors, the application body 5 rotated favorably and it was possible to feed an amount of the liquid cosmetic that is sufficient for application to the application body 5 by using the capillary force of the tip end portion 4 a, which is in a loosened state, in cases in which the length in the axis line direction of the tip end portion 4 a of the relay wick 4 that is in the loosened state was set to 1.5 mm (Example 1), 2.0 mm (Example 2), and 2.5 mm (Example 3). Meanwhile, in cases in which the length in the axis line direction of the tip end portion 4 a of the relay wick 4 that is in the loosened state was set to 0.5 mm (Example 4) and 1.0 mm (Example 5), the capillary force of the tip end portion 4 a in the loosened state was substantially similar to those of Examples 1 to 3, but the since the length in the axis line direction of the tip end portion 4 a in the loosened state was short, resilience was high, and therefore, the rotation of the application body 5 fell below that of Examples 1 to 3. In addition, in cases in which the length in the axis line direction of the tip end portion 4 a of the relay wick 4 that is in the loosened state was set to 3.0 mm (Example 6) and 3.5 mm (Example 7), the application body 5 rotated in substantially similar manners to those of Examples 1 to 3, but the capillary force of the tip end portion 4 a in the loosened state was weaker than those of Examples 1 to 3. Accordingly, it is favorable to set the length in the axis line direction of the tip end portion 4 a of the relay wick 4 that is in the loosened state to be 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm.

The present invention has been specifically described above on the basis of an embodiment thereof, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and for example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the container main body 1 and the tip tube 2 are configured to be separate members, but may also be configured as an integral container.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, an inner padding type in which the inner padding 3, which is impregnated with the liquid cosmetic, is accommodated inside the container main body 1, and the liquid cosmetic is supplied to the application body 5 from the inner padding 3 via the relay wick 4 is adopted, but a direct liquid type in which there is no inner padding 3, the inside of the container main body 1 is directly filled with the liquid cosmetic, and the liquid cosmetic is supplied to the application body 5 via the relay wick 4 while controlling the flow rate thereof by using a bellows structure may also be adopted.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the application body 5 was configured to have a disc shape as a particularly preferable shape, but for example, the present invention may also be applied to a case in which a spherical form is used in place of this, and in a similar manner to a case of a disc-shaped application body, a spherical application body is supported in a rotatable manner with an axis thereof as a pivot point, and applies the liquid cosmetic to a target application portion by using the spherical application body. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An application body-equipped cosmetic container that feeds a liquid cosmetic accommodated inside a container to a container tip end via a relay wick, wherein the relay wick induces a capillary action that transmits the liquid cosmetic from the container to an application body which is disposed in a rotatable manner at an outlet of the container tip end, wherein an outer peripheral surface of the application body which comes into contact with the relay wick is configured to apply the liquid cosmetic to a target application portion, and wherein a section of the relay wick that comes into contact with the application body is in a loosened state.
 2. The application body-equipped cosmetic container of claim 1, wherein an axial length of the section of the relay wick in the loosened state is 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm along an axis line of the relay wick.
 3. The application body-equipped cosmetic container of claim 1, wherein the application body is disc shaped.
 4. The application body-equipped cosmetic container of claim 2, wherein the application body is disc shaped. 